Visas

International students and exchange visitors beginning an initial academic program at The New School should follow the I-20/DS-2019 application instructions and then the instructions on obtaining your initial F or J visa.

If you are applying for a new visa because your current visa is expiring soon or has expired, please see the section below regarding how to renew a visa.

If you completed a Change of Status to F-1 Student or J-1 Exchange Visitor within the United States and now need to apply for an F or J visa because of travel, please see the section below regarding how to renew a visa.

If your visa has been lost or stolen, you should file a local police report and report the occurrence to the U.S. embassy or consulate abroad that issued your visa. Go to the U.S. Embassy or Consulate website to locate the email address and contact information of the embassy or consulate.

When contacting the embassy or consulate, be sure to include your full name, date of birth, place of birth, address in the United States, and email address. Specifically state whether the visa was lost or stolen in your message. If you have a copy of the visa, scan and email it to the embassy or consulate. Otherwise, report the category of visa (e.g., F or J) and the passport number from the lost or stolen visa if you know them.

If you have reported your visa lost or stolen to the U.S. embassy or consulate and then later find your misplaced visa, the recovered visa will be invalid for future travel to the United States. Therefore, in that situation, you must apply for a new visa at the U.S. embassy or consulate.

When your visa is lost or stolen, you are not required to depart from the United States. However, before traveling abroad, you will need to apply for a replacement visa to re-enter. For more information on applying for a new visa, please see the next section.

If you do not qualify for a visa exception (see the section below), you will need to apply for a non-immigrant F–1 Student or J–1 Exchange Visitor visa at a U.S. embassy or consulate office in your home country. The application process varies from country to country and can take from one day to many weeks, so please plan ahead. For more information on U.S. student and exchange visitor visas, visit the U.S. Department of State website. Please also see Renewing a Visa handout for more details.

ISSS recommends applying for the visa in your home country. However, if you are concerned about traveling home, you could look into applying at the nearest border in Canada, Mexico, or another country. This is called the Third Country National visa processing. Be aware that it may be more difficult to qualify for a visa outside of the country where you live. You must also check with the U.S. consulate in that country to see if it is willing to process the application for you.

After submitting the application for a non-immigrant F–1 Student or J–1 Exchange Visitor visa and scheduling a visa interview appointment at the U.S. embassy or consulate office, prepare the visa documentation for your interview, including:

• Nonimmigrant Visa Application, Form DS-160 confirmation page
• Signed and dated original Form I-20 or DS-2019
• The I-20 must show OPT/STEM OPT approval if you are on OPT or STEM OPT.
• The DS-2019 must show academic training authorization if you are engaged in academic training.
• Your original letter of acceptance or letter of enrollment verification from The New School
• Passport (valid at least six months into the future)
• Original or certified copies of financial documents (with translations, if necessary) demonstrating how funding for your academic program expenses will be provided (this should match the financial details information section on your I-20 or DS-2019)
• EAD Card (if on OPT or STEM OPT)
• Letter from Employer as evidence of employment (if on OPT, STEM OPT, or Academic Training)
• Police report (if applying for new visa because of the loss or theft of a previous visa)
• Proof of I-901 SEVIS fee payment
• Proof of ties to your home country*

Additional documentation may also be required. Check with the U.S. embassy or consulate where you will schedule your visa appointment for any further documentation requirements.

* Ties to your home country are facts that are perceived as giving you strong reasons to return to your home country. Anyone applying to enter the United States to attend school must be able to demonstrate strong ties to their home country with official documents. For example:

• If your family owns a business, bring letters from the bank describing the business and/or documents showing that the business is registered and truly owned by your family.
• If your family owns property, bring deeds or or other documents proving ownership.
• If you and your family have previously visited the United States, bring your passport — even if it's an old one — to demonstrate that you have been issued visas in the past and visited the United States and that after every visit, you returned to your home country.
• If you belong to a professional organization in your home country, bring proof of your membership.
• If you have the prospect of a job in your home country, get a letter from the company stating that you will be considered for a job upon your return or that the company often hires workers with the kind of education you are seeking.

According to the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations (22 CFR 41.2), citizens of the following countries are not required to have an F or J visa to enter the United States in F or J non-immigrant status:

• Citizens of Canada and Bermuda
• Bahamian nationals and British subjects resident in the Bahamas
• British subjects resident in the Cayman Islands or in the Turks and Caicos Islands (as long as they travel directly from the island)
• Natives and residents of the former Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands

In specific cases, it may also be possible to enter the United States with an expired F or J visa through a process called Automatic Visa Revalidation (see section below).

If you are traveling to Canada, Mexico, or the adjacent Caribbean islands for a trip of 30 days or less, you may be able to return to the United States in F or J status with an expired F or J visa. This process is called automatic visa revalidation.

To qualify for automatic visa revalidation or an F or J visa, you must:

• Be in lawful F or J status.
• Return to the United States within 30 days from Canada, Mexico, or the adjacent Caribbean islands..
• Have traveled to only one of the destinations (e.g., you traveled to Canada directly and returned from Canada directly to the United States, without traveling to any third country or international territory). If you travel to multiple countries during your trip, you will not be eligible for this process.
• Not have applied for a U.S. visa while abroad. If you apply for a new U.S. visa, you must wait until that visa is issued to return to the United States. If the visa is denied, you will not be able to return to the United States and must renew your visa in your home country in order to re-enter the United States.

When traveling, you may need to ask the CBP officer for automatic visa revalidation upon re-entry in order to be re-admitted to the United States in F or J status with an expired F or J visa if you qualify for this process. We strongly advise that you confirm that you are still admitted to the United States in F or J status by checking your I-94 record upon entry and contact ISSS if there are any issues.

Note: The automatic visa revalidation process does not mean that the expired F or J visa has been automatically renewed. Rather, it has been revalidated for re-entry into the United States in the instance of the use of automatic visa revalidation. If you depart from the United States again but do not qualify for automatic visa revalidation, the visa is still considered expired and must be renewed to enable you to re-enter the United States in F or J status.

Denials of visa applications are extremely rare but do occur. Denials are often based on the applicant's presumed intent for visiting the United States differing from the intent corresponding to the visa classification. This type of denial is referred to as a visa denial by a consular officer under Section 214(b). For example, an international student who is applying for an F-1 student visa may be judged by the consular officer as having an intent to visit the United States other than academic study.

If you are applying for a visa outside of your home country and are denied, it is advised that you return to your home country if you choose to re-apply.

When a visa denial occurs, you should request from the consulate or embassy a written denial notice with an explanation of the reason for denial and provide a copy to ISSS, so that an ISSS advisor can review and assist you if you choose to re-apply. If you are a new student or exchange visitor beginning your academic program at The New School, please follow the I-20/DS-2019 application instructions regarding a visa denial.

Please also keep in mind that the fee that you paid to the U.S. embassy or consulate is a visa application fee. Everyone who applies for a U.S. visa anywhere in the world must pay this fee, which covers the cost of processing your application. This fee is non-refundable, regardless of whether or not you are issued a visa. If you choose to re-apply, whether at the same embassy or elsewhere, you will still be required to pay the application fee.

It is also possible, though extremely rare, for a U.S. visa to be revoked. If this occurs, the visa is no longer valid even if the expiration date is in the future. If your visa is revoked and you are already in the United States maintaining F or J status, you do not need to renew your visa to remain in the United States. However, if you travel abroad, you will have to renew your visa to re-enter the United States and may face additional scrutiny when re-applying.

To avoid visa revocation, international students and exchange visitors are advised to maintain status and obey all U.S. laws for the duration of their stay.

Please be advised that ISSS does not assist with visa applications other than F or J for incoming or current international students and exchange visitors at The New School.

If you are planning a trip to Canada, Mexico, or another country, you should first determine whether you need an entry visa or other documentation to enter that country. Possession of a valid U.S. F or J visa does not guarantee entry to another country.

In addition, always make sure your travel signature and travel documents for re-entry to the United States are complete and valid before traveling.

To learn more about and apply for a visa for entry to another country, consult with the consulate or embassy of the country that you intend to visit.

• Find out whether you need a visa to enter Canada or Mexico. If you do not need a visa, please follow the instructions for any other documentation you may need in place of a visa.
• Check the embassies and consulates of other countries for their visa requirements and find a consulate or embassy in New York to apply for a visa if needed.

Please note that ISSS is not able to assist or advise on applying for entry visas to other countries. You should consult with the country's consulate or embassy for questions regarding the visa application process.

If you are asked to provide proof of enrollment or academic status at The New School, you may request verification of enrollment from the university registrar. ISSS cannot issue any academic support or enrollment verification letters for visa applications to other countries.

If you are applying for an entry visa to another country to engage in study abroad or research abroad, please also review traveling for study or research abroad.